Bergdahl Was A Traitor And Administration Knew It.

Ex-Bergdahl Roommate: White House Knew He Was a Traitor Before Swap

Friday, 20 Jun 2014 07:15 PM

By Bill Hoffmann

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The former roommate of Bowe Bergdahl — the U.S. Army sergeant traded for five Taliban militants — says the government knew very well he was a traitor when they were making the controversial swap.

"They have all the documentation on it. The administration knew he deserted, they knew he wasn't a hero,'' retired Army Spc. Cody Full told "The Steve Malzberg Show" onNewsmax TV.

"They knew that he wasn't captured on a battlefield or lagged behind on a patrol. They knew he went out and deserted on his own.''Bergdahl was held captive in Afghanistan by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network from June 2009 until May of this year.

He was traded for five high-ranking Taliban members who were being held at Guantanamo Bay — a secret deal made without the consultation of Congress.



But the swap quickly came under fire when Bergdahl's fellow soldiers went public to accuse him of abandoning his post and possibly seeking out the enemy.

Full angrily disagreed with National Security Advisor Susan Rice's declaration that Bergdahl had served his country with "honor and distinction."

"Deserting is not serving with honor and distinction and it's a spit in the face to every U.S. service member who has served with honor and distinction, who has fulfilled his oath. It's disgusting,'' Full said.

He criticized the fanfare surrounding the Obama administration's announcement of the deal, which was highlighted by an event in the Rose Garden of the White House in which Bergdahl's family attended.

"[It] is gross. I mean how many soldiers that have given their lives honorably for this country, how many of their parents had a Rose Garden ceremony?'' he asked.

Full said a congressional oversight committee should be formed to further explore how Bergdahl's actions led to his captivity by terrorists.

"I don't want to see this get whitewashed,'' he said.

As to why the swap was made, Full is clueless.

"I don't know why it was done, I have no idea…. It's just wrong on so many levels,'' he said.

Bergdahl Story Gets Very Strange. Will Not Call Parents.

Reports: Bergdahl Declines to Talk to Family

Sunday, 08 Jun 2014 06:35 PM

By Greg Richter

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Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has apparently been given an opportunity to talk to his family by telephone while he recovers at a U.S. military hospital in Germany, but has declined the offer, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Journal quoted an unnamed U.S. official as saying doctors are moving slowly with Bergdahl because of the continuing controversy over his release. He was held almost five years by the Taliban-connected Haqqani network after being seized outside his base in Afghanistan.



But after President Barack Obama announced Bergdahl's release in a Rose Garden ceremony May 31 with Bergdhal's parents on hand, and White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Bergdahl served with "honor and disctintion" on television the next day, Bergdahl's former platoon members began to criticize him publicly.

Bergdahl walked away from his post without telling anyone in 2009 as was quickly seized and taken into captivity. He had walked off base on at least one prior occasion and returned.

Some of his platoon members have said he is a deserter,  but a military investigation of his disappearance is not yet complete until Bergdahl gives his own account. A 2012 Rolling Stone article quoted Bergdahl as telling his parents in emails that he was ashamed to be an American.

Bergdahl's release is also receiving political fallout. Members of Congress from both parties have criticized Obama for releasing five high-level Taliban officials from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba without consulting them, as is legally required.

The White House has argued that Bergdahl's health and safety were at risk, making 30 days' notice impossible.

Further, Bergdahl's own father, Bob, has been criticized for speaking Arabic at the Rose Garden ceremony and for seeming to sympathize with his son's captors by growing a long beard and advocating via social media for release of all the Guantanamo detainees. The elder Bergdahl has said he wanted to appear sympathetic to the Taliban in hopes of securing his son's release.

But threats against the family and Bergdahl's hometown of Hailey, Idaho have forced the cancelation of a planned welcome-home celebration later this month.

All the controversy could play into Bergdahl's psychological recovery.

He continues to improve physically, but continues to need care psychologically as a result of his captivity, an official told NBC News. 

Defense officials confirmed to NBC that Bergdahl was "locked up [and had] his movements restricted" after one of his five attempts at escape. The official said, "it’s not clear whether it was a small cell or a box, but he was apparently closely confined."

The New York Times reported that Bergdahl was put into a "shark cage."

As to reports Bergdahl was tortured, the official told NBC that "he was clearly treated more harshly at some times," but it is unclear whether that treatment ever rose to the level of torture.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The Associated Press on Friday that Bergdahl was kept under "good conditions."



Related Stories:

• FBI Investigates Threats Against Bergdahl Family
• Destination of Taliban Detainees Is Hotbed of Terrorism

© 2014 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Bergdahl Deal Was Intended To Get Rid Of Worst Of The Worst, So That Gitmo Could Be Closed.

Scarborough: Bergdahl Exchange 'Strangest Thing Ever' From White House

Thursday, 05 Jun 2014 10:50 AM

By Wanda Carruthers

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Talk show host Joe Scarborough said the explanation about the prisoner exchange of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Guantanamo detainees was "the strangest thing I have ever seen coming out of a White House."

Scarborough said on his MSNBC show that unanswered questions about the exchange must indicate there is more information about why the United States released the five prisoners from the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"This is the strangest thing I have ever seen coming out of a White House. I mean, this is so monumentally bad. There has to be something else behind the scenes," Scarborough, a former Republican Florida congressman, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Thursday.



Scarborough also questioned who sent National Security Adviser Susan Rice to report on Sunday talk shows about the prisoner exchange after questionable comments she made after the 2012 bombings in Benghazi, Libya. At that time, Rice was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and blamed an anti-Islam video for the Benghazi attacks.

Rice told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that Bergdahl had "served the United States withhonor and distinction." Reports later emerged he had been captured after deserting his unit.

"Who sent Susan Rice out?" Scarborough asked. "I find it absolutely dumbfounding that she would go back on and say something that was patently false that everybody knew was patently false. That members of the unit knew it was patently false. The Intel Committee knew was patently false. That the White House administration had briefed the Intel Committee years before it was patently false."

Scarborough said that Bergdahl, while a U.S. soldier, was also possibly a deserter, and therefore, may not have been worthy of trading for five top Taliban terrorists.

"Yes, damn straight it matters that he was a deserter instead of a war hero. And yes, damn straight it matters that maybe six Americans have already died because he wanted to roam the fields of Pakistan. Damn straight that you leave him there if it means more Americans are going to get killed, and more daughters and sons are going to grow up without their moms and dads," Scarborough said.

Scarborough had harsh words for Bergdahl's father, Bob Bergdahl, who wrote to his son before he went missing that "it is never safe to ignore ones' conscience," in response to an email his son had reportedly written than he "was ashamed to even be American" and that he was "sorry for everything here."

Scarborough said: "I have a 26-year-old son. And if my son is out on the wire and he is out there with fellow troops and he writes me and says he hates America and he's thinking about deserting, and he's thinking about leaving his post, I can tell you as a father of that 26-year-old or 23-year-old son, I'd say, 'Joey, you stay the hell right there.' I would call his commander. I would say, 'Get my son. He's not well. Get him to a military base in Germany.' I would not say, 'Follow your conscience, son.'"

Scarborough also asked why Bergdahl's fellow soldiers were asked to sign nondisclosure forms, and why the administration maintained the exchange needed to be done quickly because Bergdahl "was dying." He also questioned why President Barack Obama maintained Congress had been briefed on the plan when "he knew it was false, and he'd be called out in a matter of moments."

Scarborough said that much of the information about the events of the exchange was coming from the Taliban. He found it curious there was "transparency from the Taliban, but not the U.S. government."



Related Stories:

• Angry Families of Soldiers Who Died in Bergdahl Search Want Answers
• Feinstein Slams 'Unilateral' Obama After Apology for Bergdahl Trade

© 2014 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Bergdahl Story Keeps Getting More Weird By The Moment. No Responsible Person Would Believe That White House Did It Right!

Scarborough: Bergdahl Exchange 'Strangest Thing Ever' From White House

Thursday, 05 Jun 2014 10:50 AM

By Wanda Carruthers

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Talk show host Joe Scarborough said the explanation about the prisoner exchange of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Guantanamo detainees was "the strangest thing I have ever seen coming out of a White House."

Scarborough said on his MSNBC show that unanswered questions about the exchange must indicate there is more information about why the United States released the five prisoners from the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"This is the strangest thing I have ever seen coming out of a White House. I mean, this is so monumentally bad. There has to be something else behind the scenes," Scarborough, a former Republican Florida congressman, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Thursday

Scarborough also questioned who sent National Security Adviser Susan Rice to report on Sunday talk shows about the prisoner exchange after questionable comments she made after the 2012 bombings in Benghazi, Libya. At that time, Rice was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and blamed an anti-Islam video for the Benghazi attacks.

Rice told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that Bergdahl had "served the United States withhonor and distinction." Reports later emerged he had been captured after deserting his unit.

"Who sent Susan Rice out?" Scarborough asked. "I find it absolutely dumbfounding that she would go back on and say something that was patently false that everybody knew was patently false. That members of the unit knew it was patently false. The Intel Committee knew was patently false. That the White House administration had briefed the Intel Committee years before it was patently false."

Scarborough said that Bergdahl, while a U.S. soldier, was also possibly a deserter, and therefore, may not have been worthy of trading for five top Taliban terrorists.

"Yes, damn straight it matters that he was a deserter instead of a war hero. And yes, damn straight it matters that maybe six Americans have already died because he wanted to roam the fields of Pakistan. Damn straight that you leave him there if it means more Americans are going to get killed, and more daughters and sons are going to grow up without their moms and dads," Scarborough said.

Scarborough had harsh words for Bergdahl's father, Bob Bergdahl, who wrote to his son before he went missing that "it is never safe to ignore ones' conscience," in response to an email his son had reportedly written than he "was ashamed to even be American" and that he was "sorry for everything here."

Scarborough said: "I have a 26-year-old son. And if my son is out on the wire and he is out there with fellow troops and he writes me and says he hates America and he's thinking about deserting, and he's thinking about leaving his post, I can tell you as a father of that 26-year-old or 23-year-old son, I'd say, 'Joey, you stay the hell right there.' I would call his commander. I would say, 'Get my son. He's not well. Get him to a military base in Germany.' I would not say, 'Follow your conscience, son.'"

Scarborough also asked why Bergdahl's fellow soldiers were asked to sign nondisclosure forms, and why the administration maintained the exchange needed to be done quickly because Bergdahl "was dying." He also questioned why President Barack Obama maintained Congress had been briefed on the plan when "he knew it was false, and he'd be called out in a matter of moments."

Scarborough said that much of the information about the events of the exchange was coming from the Taliban. He found it curious there was "transparency from the Taliban, but not the U.S. government."

Related Stories:

• Angry Families of Soldiers Who Died in Bergdahl Search Want Answers
• Feinstein Slams 'Unilateral' Obama After Apology for Bergdahl Trade

© 2014 Newsmax. All rights reserved.